Project Genesis (13 page)

Chapter 15

Helen ended the
video conference with Hong Kong and massaged the tense spots on her neck. She
twisted her head from side to side and stood on a stretch. News filtered
quietly in the background on her e-player. Over the last three weeks, she
scoured the media for any hint about Vin and his men.

Apparently, there
were hundreds of soldiers with the abilities his Alpha Squad possessed. News
reports talked about the skirmishes taking place around the world against the
aliens. Media footage showed uniformed men and women, displaying unlikely
powers as they fought. Around the world, military forces resisted and drove the
Rekabians back from populated areas.

It was the dense
remote locations which suffered most and helped the Rekabians gain ground in
the war. They set up camps and created bases. The reality hit citizens as time
continued and Earth didn’t immediately rouse the invaders. There was a chance
Earth could lose the most important battle of all.

Helen spent most
of her nights hating Vin and praying for his safety. Her cell trilled a tune
she hadn’t heard in weeks. Helen stared at the silver device. Two times, three
times, it rang. On the fourth, it stopped and voicemail shuffled it through.
Helen sagged back into her chair and reached for the phone just as it trilled
in her hand.

Her thumb swiped
across the screen and its image of daisies. “Hello.”

“Helen. Don’t hang
up. Wasn’t sure how many times I’d have to call before you gave in.” Relief
mixed with his grim tone.

Damn him for
knowing her so well. Hearing his voice reminded her of how much she’d missed
him. “What do you want, Vincent?”

“Just a ride,
hellcat. Nothing more.”

Helen got to her
feet and dug her free hand into her hair. How dare he call her? Did he think he
could rip her heart out and act as if nothing was wrong? Inwardly, she seethed
but managed a modicum of calm to ask, “Vin what’s this about?”

“That’s my
hellcat.” He coughed. “Always with the questions.” Vin ended on a groan and
another racking cough.

Flickers of worry
teased at the edges of her mind. She started to pace in the small space of her
office and nibbled on her bottom lip. “Please tell me what’s going on. You’re
scaring me.”

“Do you… know it…
turns me on when you do that?”

Helen paused
mid-pace. He didn’t sound like himself. There was a stop-start pattern to his
speech and she could hear him gasping with each breath. “I’m not sure what
you’re talking about.”

“When you bite
your lip.” Groan. “It’s hot as hell.”

Helen turned to
the window and almost tripped over her chair in her haste to peer out. Parked
beside her truck was a small, green four door sedan. “Is that you?” Why would
he come to her house at…she checked her cell…at ten forty-five at night?

“Open the door,
Helen.”

A quick tap tap
followed his stark command. Helen walked away from the window but didn’t go
downstairs. She leaned her head back on her shoulders and exhaled. “No.” Being
drawn back into the roller coaster ride that was Vincent Michaels did not fit
her plans. Chest pounding, she replayed the nights after the first week they’d
parted. The tears. Endless tears and recriminations after she’d laid her heart
on the line.

“I need you,
Helen. Open the door.”

Helen laughed
brokenly and slumped on the side of her desk. Vin didn’t need her. “You don’t
need anybody.” She swiped the screen and ended her call. The phone trilled
instantly. Helen powered it down. Minutes ticked by. As soon as she assumed
he’d left, his voice interrupted.

‘Open the door,
Helen. Please.’

Helen popped off
the desk with a gasp.

‘Open the door,
open the door, open the door.’

The mental order
ran around and around her head. Pressing her hands to her ears, Helen snapped.
“Stop it. Go away, Vin. I don’t want to be hurt anymore.”

‘I won’t hurt
you. I need you. Helen, quick, open the door.’

Urgency drove her
from the room, across the hall and down her stairs. She disarmed the security
system and flipped back the locks, fully prepared to blast him with her anger.
When Helen opened the door, she wasn’t expecting Vin’s body to fall through.

She tried to catch
him but his weight drove both of them to the floor. Her hands pushed anxiously
at his chest and wetness coated her palms. “Vin, you’re heavy.”

Another groan and
the weight crushing her to the floor shifted and rolled away. Once clear of
him, Helen wiped her hand to push back her loose hair. Bright red smears
stained her finger tips. “Vincent!”

The black shirt
bore several large rips in a diagonal slash through the material. Large red
splotches covered the white tee shirt beneath. His mouth curled up in the
corner. “My hellcat.” He lifted a hand toward her face but it fell limply to
his side just as his eyes rolled up.

Helen scrambled to
her knees and pushed him all the way onto his back. “You don’t get to die on
me.”

“Not planning on
dying,” he mumbled as his eyes opened.

Hearing him voice
the denial brought nervous laughter to Helen’s lips. “Okay. This is good to
know.”

“Have to get
back.” Vin tried to rise but his arms braced on the floor shook. A cracked and
damaged cell phone hit the floor.

“We have to get
you help. I’ll call 911.” She reached for his fallen phone but Vin grabbed her
wrist.

“No ambulance. No
hospital. Help me up.”

Helen tucked a
shoulder under his armpit and helped heave him to his feet. Their combined
weight made her sway.

“Need you,” he
slurred.

“Alright. Tell me
what you need.” Seeing his weakened condition and the blood scared her. What
happened to him and where were his men? “Should you call your team?”

“Lost ear com.
Encrypted cell, no contacts. Gotta get back to base.” The fragments she pieced
together dwindled to a whisper.

Helen froze as
their meaning penetrated. “You want me to drive you back.”

He straightened as
much as possible and Helen couldn’t miss the way his pupils flared before
dimming. “Will you take me there?”

She wanted to say
no. Wanted to roll him out the door and leave his battered body on her porch.
But Helen couldn’t. His desperation beat at her skin. “Let me get my keys and
purse.” Helen struggled but between the two of them finally propped him along
the wall by her wide open front door. She ran upstairs, grabbed what she needed
and considered her clothes. The navy blue drawstring pants and yellow off the
shoulder top would have to do. Helen raced back down stairs.

Vin’s eyes
flickered open when she returned next to him. She curved his arm over her
shoulder and locked the door before they made their way painstakingly toward
her vehicle. This close, she realized the green car was missing the front
windshield and it sported several dents on the hood.

Vin frowned as they
neared it. “Tried to drive. Got dizzy and swerved off the road.”

Stopping at the
cayenne, Helen shoved him into her front passenger seat and did up the seatbelt
over his waist when his large hands fumbled the metal clasp. He angled his head
back on the seat rest.

Helen got in the
driver’s seat and dug through her purse for her keys. Vin leaned over and
touched a pointer finger to the ignition button. Her car started. She stared at
him taken aback. Seeing him use the skills he touched on when they talked unnerved
her.

“Hurry, Helen,
Rekabians looking for me.”

“What do you
mean?” Nothing on the news mentioned the Rekabians in her part of suburbia.

“Think they
figured it out. Seem to be targeting areas where our enhanced teams are likely
to respond quickest.”

Helen’s foot hit
the gas and the car shot from her drive in reverse. She shifted gears smoothly
and headed for the shortest route for the beltway. “You’ll have to direct me
once we get close to DC. I don’t remember how to get there.”

“I trust you,
Helen.”

Helen frowned and
studied the road. “Happy birthday to me.”

***

Vin wasn’t sure
what he would have done if Helen refused him. He’d lost a lot of blood and used
his abilities to the point he was close to blacking out. His mental pleading
with her hadn’t helped him feel better for certain. His head pounded in tune
with the bumps in the road but not enough to block out her muttered words.

“It’s your
birthday?” Despite the aches and pain in his body, he angled his head in her
direction.

Eyes on the road
and hands gripping the wheel at three o’clock, she nodded.

Vin laid a hand on
the thigh nearest him and rubbed. “Happy birthday, baby. I’m sorry to ruin it.”
His dick twitched but he couldn’t help it. When he was around Helen, he wanted
her.

“It’s not a big deal
anyway.”

Vin remembered his
last birthday. The experimental trials had been over and they’d all needed a
reason to celebrate something. The guys had gotten together to take Vin to a
bar and they’d all drunk themselves into a stupor except Curtis. The southern
boy of the group with the gentle heart played DD with patience and somehow
managed to get them all safely back to Command Central.

“Which birthday is
this?”

Helen sniffed. “A
gentleman would never ask.”

His lips twitched.
“I’m not a gentleman, so give. Or I can have one of the guys find out. Rock’s
pretty good with the computer stuff.”

“Is that how you
always know my work schedule?”

She turned briefly
from the road to see his face. Vin thanked the dark interior for hiding the
color in his cheeks. “Rock’s good.” Was all he’d admit to.

“Hmmm.”

The hum said a lot
as a woman’s hum always did but Vin refused to be distracted. “So how old,
hellcat?”

She huffed.

Vin laughed and
regretted it immediately when pain blazed a path down his chest from the claw
marks the Rekabian managed after his armor failed.

Helen missed all
of this since her eyes were back on the road but joined in and laughed. “Do you
know it just hit me that you do it on purpose?”

She’d lost him
with the question or the wound that bled like a bitch had him foggier than he
thought. “What do I do on purpose?”

“Call me that
stupid nickname. You know I hate it.”

Vin ducked his
head to hide his smile. He called her hellcat because it brightened her eyes
and lightened the tight lines around her mouth on the days when she came home
all knotted up. More than once, he’d watched the alleged annoying nickname make
her smile. Helen’s smile was a beautiful thing.

If he thought she
truly hated it, he would have stopped after the first time. This time, he gave
her the unexplained. “Hmmm.”

“I can’t figure
you out, Vincent.”

Vin stretched his
legs out on the floor boards and ignored the responding twinge in his hip.
Glancing over the dashboard, Helen maintained a cool seventy. Hopefully, they’d
get to DC in another forty minutes or so because the dark spots in his vision
worsened and warned of a major knock down headache from using his abilities
earlier. “Nothing to figure out.” Keeping his head toward the window helped him
avoid the disappointment sure to be on her face.

“Hmm.”

Vin jerked around
and caught the edge of her smile. Unexpected humor flared. “Now, you’re
shitting with me.”

She grinned. “I
think you’re afraid of me.”

Nerves began to
curl in a ball in his gut. She hit to close to home with her blunt assessment.
“At six-feet and two hundred pounds, I’d find it hard to understand why I’d be
afraid of you, Helen.” Vin braced an elbow on the sliver of space by his
window. With the chair back and his legs extended, the pose should have
conveyed the image of relaxation while in truth it hid his weakened condition.

“But you are.”

Vin started to
protest when Helen braked sharply. The lights on the car in front of them
flared bright red. His seatbelt tightened across his chest with brutal force as
Helen yanked on the wheel sharply and changed into the right lane. Horns
blasted behind them and Vin watched with pain filled eyes as the cars swerved
around each other.

“Oh my God.” Helen
kept glancing in the mirror at the near miss.

Vin agreed for a
whole other reason but couldn’t speak. The pain in his chest expanded to his
abdomen and catching his breath became suddenly difficult. Shadows crept on the
edges of his vision and his lap at the top of his jeans felt wet.

“Vin? Vin!”

His lips parted
but nothing came out. Each breath escaped on a shaky pant. The cayenne swerved
again when Helen took the first exit ramp that came up fast. “The bleedings
worse, Vincent.” She kept looking between him and the road. “I need to stop and
check you.”

There was danger
in stopping. Getting to the Command Center was the only place he’d be safe. Vin
tried to refuse, to tell her to keep going but his head hit the passenger side
window with a thump and the lights went out.

Chapter 16

Helen pushed fear
to the back of her mind. Vin needed her. She roared up to the only available
parking spot which luckily was in the front of the glass plated door of the gas
station. She hit the brakes hard and slammed the gear in park. Vin’s body
jolted from the sudden motion and his head wobbled on his shoulders.

Leaning over the
seat, she touched his forehead. His skin was burning hot. Her hand drifted down
Vin’s neck where his pulse tapped hard on her fingers. Further down, she
encountered his soaking wet shirt.

“I’m going in the
store to get bandages, pain killers…” Helen strained her thoughts to remember
what the doctors on the medical TV dramas always called out for but truthfully
she never had a reason to pay attention.

Vin unfortunately
didn’t answer. Helen locked the door behind her and rushed inside the well lit
interior. The clerk behind the counter waved at her while he rung up another
customer in line. Helen read the signage hanging from chain links in the
ceiling and aimed for aisle number four.

She grabbed an
empty red basket from the floor and randomly tossed in alcohol, peroxide, a bag
of cotton balls, gauze, then moved down the shelves and snatched up several
brands of pain relievers. Helen bounced on one foot to the other when she got
to the front. The line of customers had increased to six.

A check out the
window at least reassured her that Vin still sat upright in her car blond head
tilted at an awkward angle. The line shuffled forward. Nerves pulled taut,
Helen inched along, the basket swinging along her hip. Her heart raced a
thousand miles an hour, she wanted to hurry back out to Vin.

The older man at
the register with thinning hair frowned when he heard his total. Slowly, he
began the process of putting stuff on the side and asking to cancel certain
items. Helen viewed a bottle water being left behind, a box of animal crackers
but he kept the can of formula and a travel pack of wipes. Another person
sighed impatiently, causing the poor man to shrug his frail shoulders and offer
a weak smile.

Someone bumped
Helen’s shoulder and the basket tipped dangerously to the side. Expecting a
routine apology, she was caught off guard by another hard shove in the back and
then screams. The clerk shouted and pointed while frantically climbing over the
counter. Helen turned looking for the threat even as panic sent a surge of
adrenaline through her bloodstream.

The lights in the
parking lot created overlapping shadows in the furthest section. A Rekabian
approached with its oddly balanced gait. Its sinuous neck swung back and forth,
the mouth opening with rapid clicks. There were five other cars in the main
area of the small parking lot and the Rekabian kicked and banged each one after
peering inside.

It made its way to
the cars on the front row in clear view of the store. Her white cayenne and a
blue mini.

Customers shouted
and a few ran outside the store. The clerk cleared the door first, drawing the
alien’s attention. Helen waited for laser fire or for the creature to charge
him. Instead, it continued to search the vehicles. In dawning horror, she
realized why it searched. Or rather for who.

“Oh, no.” She
hurried toward the door, eyes flying to her now empty car. Empty. Helen burst
through the door and crouched low. The Rekabian smashed a fist through the
window of an electric car and squealed loudly.

“I’ve called the
police,” someone shouted waving their cell phone at the alien.

Helen quelled the
ridiculous impulse to laugh at his stupidity and then stopped in her tracks
when the Rekabian pulled the door by its hinge to reveal a crying baby. A
toddler really. The little one screamed loudly, tears running down a red face
as she presented an easy target strapped in the car seat.

“Get away from
her!”

The old man in the
red sweater from the store shuffled down the sidewalk heading straight for the
car. Fear increased his already aged features as he hobbled with his elderly
gait toward danger. Helen dropped the basket and joined him running to the
innocent child, no question in her mind that it was his car and the baby had
been entrusted in his care.

“Hey, ugly!” She
clapped her hands together, wanting the Rekabian’s attention on her and not the
child.

***

Vin’s instincts
warned him minutes before his eyes snapped open. He looked in the side view
mirror at the Rekabian on a search mission. The creature's actions as it kicked
on cars and banged on doors proved it was clearly looking for Vin. Somehow
trailing him to this store.

Vin opened Helen’s
passenger side door and eased out. A wave of dizziness crashed over him,
leaving him blinking into the starry night. Vin shook it off and reached for
his thigh holster. He didn’t have his G32 but his sidearm would give him some
sort of defense. Shifting away from the vehicle, Vin circled back until he’d
maneuvered behind the alien. Things were going fine. Then the screaming started
from inside the store. Someone had spotted the Rekabian.

Customers flooded
out into the parking lot, ruining Vin’s line of sight. His mind flew through
several scenarios as he planned on how to end the deadly alien without hurting
anyone else when he heard Helen’s voice call out, “Hey, ugly!”

Vin’s already
pounding heart surged and terror countered the weakness in his limbs. ‘
Damn
it, hellcat. Why don’t you ever stay put
?’

He must have
unintentionally broadcast the thought to her in his weakened state because her
dark head shifted and began searching the parking lot. Vin stayed hidden behind
the mini car. No need to give away his position since the creature lifted its
head and mimicked her move looking around. For him.

Clicks and squeals
followed. The cry of a child sent an old man lunging toward the car and diving
inside, Helen on his heels. The Rekabian held no weapon in his clawed hand and
seemed confused. It kept arching its neck back and forth between Helen and the
old guy then turning to the almost vacant lot.

Vin tensed the
minute he realized the alien’s decision. Jumping to his feet he yelled, “Helen,
move. Now!”

Her head jerked in
his direction but bless her beautiful ass, she didn’t hesitate. She turned on
the sidewalk and ran toward the sound of Vin’s voice. She leaned down and
grabbed something on her way. The Rekabian roared and jumped on the hood of the
car to the left of Helen. She dodged its frantic swipe, legs churning and not
looking back.

Vin stood out from
behind the car he’d used as a shield and aimed his gun. The Rekabian suddenly
lifted its own weapon but instead of pointing it in Vin’s direction, it cocked
its head to the side, silently watching Vin then Helen then back toward Vin
before aiming for Helen’s back.

“No,” Vin shouted,
rushing forward. He activated his battle armor though he knew its deteriorated
condition would provide meager protection since it was damaged in his earlier
fight. Vin reached Helen, hooking an arm around her heaving waist and slammed
them both to the ground. His helmet auto released and covered his head a second
later.

Helen’s breath
hoofed out as he covered her with his body and tucked his head in close to
hers. Laser fire hit directly in the middle of his back. The armor held the
first time and the second as the creature continue to blast away but it gave on
the third strike. Fire burned down Vin’s back and he couldn’t muffle his groan.

Helen cried out
but he kept her down. The ground shook as the creature jumped from the car and
began running toward them. Vin counted off in his head. He had one chance to
make this right.

“Stay still,
hellcat,” he murmured above Helen before leaping to his feet when the Rekabian
was exactly where he expected. Vin fired until his gun whirled, signaling an
empty charge.

The Rekabian
jerked but its headlong flight didn’t stop. It got close to Vin and wrapped its
lanky arms around Vin’s waist, squeezing for all he was worth.

“Shit” Vin wheezed
as already bruised ribs screamed for mercy. Using the last bit of energy he
had, Vin summoned his electrical charge, knowing he was going to regret it but
he didn’t want to die today.

Sizzling heat shot
from deep inside of him and Vin hugged the Rekabian back, pouring every bit of
juice he had into the now squealing alien. Electricity arced between them,
lighting up the night. It fell to the ground with a crash, taking Vin with him
and the air filled with the smell of eggs left out too long in the sun.

“Vin.” Helen came
up behind him her hands patting the smoking armor on his back.

Vin deactivated
his helmet and the armor though it was now damaged beyond repair. He climbed to
his feet. “I’m okay.” Spots danced in an odd halo display around her concerned
face. Dancing spots on everything.

“You fool. You
stupid, stupid fool.” Helen slapped at his arms crying.

Vin curled an arm
around her waist and forced his next words through numb lips. “Get me to the
car, baby.” His temples hammered out a beat warning of impending disaster.

Helen dragged half
carried his dead weight to the car but Vin managed to get himself in once she
had the cayenne door open. She ran around the other side, climbed in then
tossed a red basket at his feet.

“Tell me where to
go, Vin.”

Vin rattled off
the address and the closest exit before rolling down the window and vomiting. When
he leaned back in his seat, the world spun around him. Helen called his name
but once again darkness swallowed him.

***

Helen drove like
there were demons on her heels. Her foot mashed the pedal to the floor and her
high performance vehicle responded. With terror as her motivator, she pulled up
to the gates of Vin’s Command Center in thirty minutes, surprised police hadn’t
pulled her over from her manic race to get here.

At the gate two,
guards rushed toward the driver’s side window, guns out. Helen released the
steering wheel, her hands shot in the air. “Don’t shoot, please.”

“Top security
clearance only. You need to turn around.” The soldier’s lips pressed tight
together and the one next to him murmured into a small mic attached to the
headset he wore.

Considering she
probably looked half crazed, Helen forgave him. “No, I need to see…” She
nibbled her bottom lip and considered which name would get her in fastest.
“Harkum,” she blurted. “It’s an emergency.”

The first guard
kept his weapon aimed directly at her and peered through the interior of her
car. “Is that Michaels?” Dark eyes widened and the weapon lowered slightly.

“Yes, he’s hurt
and needs help, he’s bleeding,” she rushed out.

The second guard
ran around to the passenger side and tapped Vin’s face. He spoke into his
headset with urgent whispers.

“Drive to the
door, ma’am. Doctors will meet you there.”

Relief left her
hands shaking but she managed to drive to the designated spot and park half
over the yellow lines. Four men in white lab coats and white jumpsuits came
running out with a battery powered stretcher levitating between them. Helen was
ignored as they pulled Vin out and placed him on the bed.

Helen followed,
half walking half running when she heard Vin.

“Wait. Scan for
tracker,” he gasped out, breath rattling.

She didn’t know
what he meant but one of the men in white ran a box down his torso and legs. He
cursed and leaned over Vin’s chest. The box beeped loudly. Another handed him a
slim metal rod which he aimed at Vin chest. A buzz sounded then fizzled.

“Looks like you
were right. The gouge in your chest had some sort of micro tracer implanted.”

Vin turned his
head and their eyes met.

Helen tried to
smile but something wet plopped on her chin.

“C’mere.” He
raised his trembling arm. She’d never witnessed him so unsteady. Helen grabbed
his hand, grateful for the contact.

The men in white
started to protest but Vin growled, “She stays.”

“Yes, sir.”

Helen choked in
relief but the feeling was short lived. Vin’s eyes rolled up in his head and
the man at his side yelled, “We’re losing him!”

Vin’s body began
to jerk on the bed, his hand clenching hard enough to have Helen wincing. His
head tipped to the side, muscles straining in his throat and teeth bared. The
doctors jostled her, their panicked actions stressing the urgency of the
situation. Their jog beside the transporter bed turned into a mad dash inside
the building.

The skin of Vin’s
face paled as the spasm faded and his fingers loosened on hers. “No.” Helen
grasped frantically to hold him to her as tears poured down her cheeks.

 They entered a
room with medical equipment and hurried to a corner where another doctor
waited. He must have been in charge because he rapped out commands and the
others followed.

“Stand by.” The
one who found the tracker said right before jabbing Vin with a huge needle in
the chest.

Helen choked off a
scream as Vin’s body arched up from the bed but two of the men held him down.
Color rushed in Vin’s cheek and his breathing eased.

“W-what did you do
to him?”

“Healing agent. It
will speed up his recovery since his energy’s depleted.”